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Monday, 11 October 2010

I received these wonderful clay bowls Rosanna made me more than a month ago (on 8/9/10-notice 8,9,10?) and it has taken me till 10/10/10 to show them off properly. Of course, it is a case of kismet that I had to wait this long. You must surely expect the mystical by now on this blog!

Rosanna not only made the bowls, she also hand painted each and everyone of them in the primitive theme so that they could be used in this house. I roughed them up a bit because they were perfect, but only a bit. It also took me a while to decide where to display the bowls and after that, one shelf that I built for half of them just would not behave (see lower shelf)- it refused to stay straight and kept drooping down!

That was why some of the bowls were on the floor yesterday when SuZ came by last night. Now my sister had insisted that my dad send her to my home straight from the airport because she just had to show everyone (mum, dad and me) what she bought me from Chennai.

I was really excited when SuZ took out the boxes. Although she had shown me on Skype these dolls last month (she was away for 3 weeks), I really wanted to see them up close and personal. I remembered oohing and ahhing already when they were on screen but last night, I fell in love 6 times over.

I was worried that the dolls were not of scale but SuZ dispelled my fears when she took a look at the tribal house and plonked Mr. Punch, the potter in the room behind these bowls. Look, she exclaimed, he's right at home here. I wanted to protest but Mr Punch looked seriously pleased so I only mumbled my grumble. My darling sister then proceeded to place 2 other dolls in the house, stood back and looked just as pleased as Punch!

Nooooo, That's the bedroom! Mr. SS (spice seller) can't be there! Of course, my protest fell on deaf ears. I must say though, Mr. SS with the bedroom eyes also seems pretty comfy where he is.

Handsome as he is, he sure owns a lousy tool. I must change that scale and maybe repack the food. They look like real food, don't they? To be honest, I can't really tell.

Speaking of food, when I took this picture, I had thought this man was a food vendor. Of course, I had to find out what kind of food so I googled and after 1 hour, I found out from here that this is actually a priest performing puja and that puja is a daily ritual involving devotion by the offering of food, drink and prayers to a deity.

I also found to my horror that I am missing a piece here (see the glue stain?) and that I have already thrown away the box. Of course, I went and rummaged through the bin filled with dead leaves, ants and mosquitoes. Badly bitten, I eventually found the box but no missing piece. Guess I will have to make this one as well.

These are the three vegetable sellers who make me feel like spewing poetry or break into a song every time I lay my eyes on them .

Lalala, how do I love thee?

Let me count the ways ..lalalalala

Firstly. there's the changingexpressions

Can you see how the chubby plea to buy ..

...quickly turn into grimaces for help with just a sideward glance?

Then there 's the giant fruits, so easy they will sell!

Love how the clothes are made from real cloth in perfect perfect scale

To my delight, I found out from some bloggers I visit regularly that Navaratri was on Friday (8/10) . On this occasion, some households display their doll collections for 9 nights. I hope to take this opportunity to celebrate my own festival of dolls with this display made by SuZ inspired by Rosanna's bowls. My dear, sweet sister will be celebrating her birthday right in the middle of the Navaratri festival on 13/10 with the people who love her to death, us.

Thank you, Rosanna , thank you, Suz!

The Beauty of Krishnanagar Dolls

It took me an incredible 5 hours on the net before I found out that these wonderful dolls were the famous Krishnanagar dolls. You know me, I just had to know where they are from or I won't be able to sleep. So although this post started in the afternoon of 10/10/10, I finally only finished past midnight. Actually, it's almost 1.30am now.

The chief patron for clay dolls was Maharaja Krishnachandra of Krishnagar. His initiative in the late 18th Century kick- started the making of realistically stylized, clay dolls originating from the state. Krishnanagar clay dolls are a connoisseur’s delight. The themes for these dolls are borrowed from the various societies of India. The social life of the people belonging to different castes and races are depicted in a clear and precise manner. These dolls, a regular feature in various international exhibitions, have won wide acclaim in most parts of the world, especially Europe.

Krishnanagar dolls are modeled from a special variety of clay found on the banks of the Ganges.It is incredibly soft, and can be moulded easily. The doll makers use tiny iron rods to provide the skeletal structure for the dolls, then work with delicate tools to craft the clay. When they are nearly done, the dolls are baked in a kiln, given a final coat of varnish, painted, and then costumed. Each doll is one of a kind although the theme may be the same.

Sadly, I read from Wiki that these dolls are waning in popularity and that the numbers of master doll makers have dwindled so badly that in 2007, there were no more than 10 of them, mostly aged, living in Ghumi, neighbourhood of Krishnanager and the center for production of clay dolls.

My sister bought these dolls at a craft bazaar in Chennai , India last month. I am still trying to find out which fair it was....

Oh I love these dolls Sans, you lucky girl you! Rosanna's bowls really do go well with the potter doll!I like the hair too, LOL! Even under the arms - wow. Makes me wonder if they have hair .....er..nevermind, we won't go there, LOL.

G, I really hope these Krishnanagar dolls expand their fan base soon. I will hate to see this art form gone. As far as I am concerned, they are truly wonderful. They make me want to throw away all the 100 over resin ones I have collected except those I have changed. This means I now have 100+ dolls which I absolutely have to bash . Shucks!

With the dolls (great little people, hair included!!) in place in the house it seems like a weird dreamscape :D A spice seller in the bedroom? Did the Rollas eat too much rich food before they went to bed?

Sans you are so funny! I was smiling as I read this whole post and I swear I giggled a few times (probably at the hair part!).

The bowls are beautiful, the dolls fit in to the scene very well, and I can't beleive how much information you put out on your blog all the time! :) You are like an encyclopedia of whatever crosses your path at the moment, that is such a great quality in a person!

Wow Sans! What wonderful dolls! What a wonderful sister to bring them for you! Happy birthday to SuZ! And the bowls from Rosanna are really lovely too... I like the designs she painted on them. (Your sagging shelf just needs the angle brackets to support it!) As for those dolls, you are definitely going to have to make them all houses now....! I hope those doll makers continue... I love the detail they include.... especially the hairy parts! And each one is so different! And they are made of real clay! I don't know about you, but I always feel as though my polyclay dolls aren't "real" enough, and wish I could do the porcelain doll-making.... maybe someday I will learn how! Your posts are always magical! That is what we come for! Kismet for sure!

This has to be my favourite-est post from last week (Honest!) And I can't believe your sister found these in Chennai! I'm from Chennai and I've never had a chance to lay my eyes upon such gorgeous dolls. I'm ashamed to say I had no clue what Krishnanagar dolls were :( I read up the link you posted- and now I really really want to own one too!

I tried to re-read my post and imagine me as you deciding which parts I may have giggled.. *giggles. Maybe these parts?:

1. pleased as Punch? (by the way, I once knew an Indian man whose name was Punch Coomaraswarmy (he's long gone, bless his soul) so Punch is not a exactly a made-up Indian name )

2. Mr Spice with the bedroom eyes?

3. Mr Bedroom Eyes and his "tool"? oops ! I wonder how many knew that was a antiquarian word for you know what ...yes Kristy, it is usually hairy!

4. Maybe me trying to sing by typing?

Anyway, re-reading the post, you know which part really made me giggled? I just saw in the pic about the chest hair that the dollmaker had glued chest hair over the string the man was wearing around his neck...hahahhaha..sorry..but THAT is SUPER funny to me ....LOL!!!!!!ROFL!!!ADL (almost died laughing!)

Oh yes Sans! You got me right on the mark! I started smiling when your sister kept placing the dolls just the way she wanted... maybe you weren't happy but she sure was! Then I laughed a little at your play on words with Mr. Punch... And then we get to the vegetable sellers :). Enough said, you covered it! Those guys are realistically hairy aren't they :). And I had mostly overlooked Mr Spice, but now I went back and saw him (and his tool) with whole new eyes! ;)

And yes, everytime I see sing song typing I try to get the tune right and sing along... I never quite get it right XD.

Betsy, I actually have some kind of support for the shelves below but they are not that strong. I was impatient and before the glue could dry properly, I had put the bowls on them . That's why they were sagging. Eventually I had to rip the shelf away, sand off the glue and re-glue it again to the wall. So far so good.

You know, as I am researching more about the craftsmen in India , I found more and more of the dying trade. It is indeed a sad day when plastic toys replace these wonderful clay and ceramic dolls entirely.

Then again, the other day I found a 50 year old doll from Japan that I taught was made of clay but was in fact made of plastic. I will post it on my projects blog shortly.

Divya, I really hope more people will grow to appreciate these dolls and buy them so that the trade will flourish once more.

I have also read that these Krishnanagar dolls are exhibited at most of the handicraft museums of the world. In India, you have a large display of these dolls (hundreds) in the Shankar’s Doll Museum in New Delhi. Exhibitions of Krishnagar dolls have been held in London, Paris and Boston.Ghurni clay models have won medals and certificates at international exhibitions.So they are really treasures :):).

By the way , I am so happy to know that you were from Chennai. Next time, I have one more person to ask when I travel to India :):).

Happy birthday SuZ, best wishes!!Sans,look into your mail and thank you for the top place for the pots. I do love Mr Punch and Mr Spices...Shall I ever be able to look at him with innocent eyes after yours and Lorraine's comments ? ;o) Have a nice day, Rosanna

Heh heh, Cindy, now that I know what's the 1st thing I will make you do when you come over :):). I understand that you are suffering a drippy nose? Well now you know where you can wipe your nose? Plenty of hairkechief for you ! haha

Have you heard of the band U2? It's one of my all time favourite bands and they have an album called Achtung Baby :):). Plus all the WWII movies of course :) and I think the British comedy Allo Allo :).

The weather here is freaky. It's hazy because of the forest fires in Indonesia and I have been suffering a headache the whole day. Grey is the primary colour here. :) I am going to try and pop by your blog soon to read all your posts :).

ME

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These blogs chronicle my journey into the wonderful world of miniatures.
"The Beginning" is the prequel to it all, the one that triggered my obsession with the weird and wonderful world of doll houses.
"My Maharajah's Palace" is a journal of the trials and tribulations en-route to the building of my Indian Palace.
"Projects, Musings & AOB" is like my workroom or scrapbook of anything minis.